The debates between Congressman Ron DeSantis and Mayor Andrew Gillum drew controversy because of the difference in the way that both candidates referred to each other. Mayor Gillum used “Mr. DeSantis” to refer to his opponent, and Congressman DeSantis used “Andrew” to refer to his Democratic opponent.

Mayor Gillum commented that he did not appreciate the way that he was informally referred to in the first gubernatorial debate, and he commented on the matter by saying that “All of a sudden without invitation, he was calling me Andrew. Now between the two of us, he quit his job in Congress, but I’m a sitting mayor, and he had the nerve to address me only as Andrew.”

In response to Gillum’s disappointment, Congressman DeSantis assured that Mayor Gillum was “just trying to create issues.”

DeSantis also added that “But if he wants to have formal titles, I’ll do it, but I’ve got to be honest about it. Maybe we can call him Failed Mayor Gillum, because of the crime rate.  Or maybe we’ll call him Crooked Mayor Gillum for accepting illegal gifts. Maybe we call him Radical Mayor Gillum for signing the Dream Defenders Pledge.”

With just a few days to go before election day, Mayor Gillum is polling at 6 points higher than Governor DeSantis, and Democrats are looking to ensure that their “blue wave” overwhelms the sunshine state.

However, to combat this, President Donald Trump has been enlisted to campaign with Congressman DeSantis on Halloween night as Democrats enlist President Obama to campaign on behalf of Mayor Gillum and Senator Bill Nelson. In addition, Republicans maintain that Mayor Gillum’s positions are too radical for Florida and that Floridians will reject his “socialist” policies.

President Trump has also slammed Mayor Gillum for the ongoing FBI investigation into possible corruption after accepting several gifts from undercover FBI agents.